Unloading apparatus.



PATENTED JAN. 3, 1905.

ABERTKB. UNLOADING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED 1313.6, 1904.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

PAIENIBD JAN. 311905..

B. BERTKE.

UNLADING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. s, 1904.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

@Pif/nemen IPATENTED' IAN. 3, 190V.

kB, 53mm* UqLojADmG APPARATUS,

PYLIGTION FILED APB. 6, 1904.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

NTTED STATES Patented January 3, 1905e BERNARD BERTKE, OF CRANBERRY PRAIRIE, OHIO.

UNLOADING APPARATUS..

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 779,113, dated January 3, 1905.

Application iiled April 6, 1904. Serial No. 201.788.

To all whom, tm/by concern:

Be it known that I, BERNARD BER'IKE, a citizen ofthe United States, residing at Cranberry Prairie, in the county of Mercer and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Unloading Apparatus, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to unloading apparatus, and has for its object to provide an apparatus of this character whereby a wagon-body may be readily lifted bodily from the runninggear, firmly supported in lifted position independently of the lifting mechanism, and reversed or turned over sufficiently to entirely discharge its contents, the apparatus being also adapted to return the body to its normal position and lower it in place upon the running-gear again.

To these ends my invention consists in certain novel features, which I will now proceed to describe and will then particularly point Yout in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional view of a barn or other similar building having my improved unloading apparatus applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken in a plane at right angles to the plane of section of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view showing the wagon-body supported in an elevated position and the turning-tackle connected thereto ready to begin the operation of turning the body over to discharge the load. Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3, showing the body turned over to discharge the load; and Fig. 5 is a plan view of the windlass employed in hoisting the wagonbody to its lifted position.

While my improved apparatus may of course be mounted upon and supported by any suitable frame or support, I have shown the same as located within a barn, where it is primarily intended to be used,since the wagons after being loaded are taken to the barn in order to be there unloaded, the barn acting as a storehouse.

In the accompanying drawings, therefore, 1 indicates a barn; 2, the iioor-line thereof, on which the vehicle to be unloaded is to be driven;

3, a bin or crib into which the load is to be discharged; 4, the rafters, and 5 the roof-pole. At

any suitable point, preferably upon the rafters l 4, there is mounted a windlass 6 vfor hoisting or lifting the wagon-body to an elevated position. This windlass is preferably of a character such as to multiply the power applied thereto, so as to permit the loaded wagonbody to be lifted by the strength of one man, the entire apparatus being designed for the purpose of enabling' a single operator to perform the entire series of operations of unloading the wagon-body. I therefore prefer to employ for this windlass the construction which I have devised and which is shown more particularly in Fig. 5. In this construction the windlass comprises a suitable supportingframe 7, in which is mounted the shaft 8 of the hoisting-drum 9 of the windlass, said shaft being provided with the usual ratchet-wheel 10, with which the locking-pawls 11 coperate. On the shaft 8 is mounted a large sprocketwheel 12, which is connected by a sprocketchain 13 with a sprocket-wheel 14 on a counter-shaft 15, mounted in the frame 7 parallel to the shaft 8. rI he shaft 15 is provided at one end with a large bevel-gear 16, with which meshes a small bevel-pinion 17, mounted on a side shaft 18, arranged at right angles to the drum-shaft 8, said side shaft being supported by brackets 0r extensions 19 from the frame 7. rI he shaft 18 extends to the front of the windlass and is there provided with a crank-handle 20, by means of which it may be rotated, its position being such that the operator stands i-n front of the windlass while operating the same. The gearing is simple and inexpensive and at the same time is of a character such as to enable a single operator to hoist the loaded wagon-body. From the drum 9 of the windlass two hoisting-ropes 21 and 22 extend, passing over guide-pulleys 23 and 24, suspended from or mounted on the rafters and separated by a distance slightly less than the length of the wagon-bod y, above which said pulleys are located. The lower ends of the hoisting-ropes 21 and 22 are formed into or provided with loops or slings 25 and 26, adapted to pass around the ends of the Wagon-body, or are provided with other means whereby they may IOO be readily connected with and disconnected from the ends of the wagon-body.

Adjacent to the hoisting-ropes 21 and 22 there are suspended two supporting-bars 27 and 28,1ocated at a suitable distance above the floor 2, their height above it being suflicient to bring the bottom of the wagon-body above the top of the bin 3 when said body rests upon said su pporting-bars. These bars are of a length somewhat greater than the width of the wagon-body and are supported from above, so as to be capable of being swung in under said wagon-body or withdrawn from under the same when the wagon-body is elevated by means of the hoisting-ropes. The construction whichI prefer for this purpose is that shown, in which each supporting-bar is provided at its ends with uprights 29, connected by links or ropes 30 with the rafters 4. A rope 31 extends from the bar 27 to the operators stand in front of the windlass 6, preferably passing around a guiding-pulley 32. A similar rope 33 extends from the supporting-bar 28 to the operators station, passing around guiding-pulleys 34 and 35. Suitable means are indicated at 36 for' securing the ropes 31 and 33, and by their means the supporting-bars may be swung back out of the way, as shown. in full lines in Fig. 1, so as to permit the wagon-body to be hoisted to a point above said bars, and when said ropes are released the supporting-bars will swing down into the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, in which position they extend under the wagon-body, which may then be lowered so as to rest upon them.

The mechanism by which the wagon-body is lturned comprises a windlass 37, mounted on the rafters 4 and having a drum 38 and operating hand-wheel 39. Around this drum there is coiled either a single rope or two separate ropes, the leads of which are indicated, respectively, by the reference-numerals 40 and 41, the arrangement being such that one'of the leads or ropes is paid out from said drum while the other is being wound upon it. The rope or lead 40 is carried around a guiding-pulley 42 and carried thence across the top of the wagon-body, being secured to the lower edge of said body at 43 in any suitable manner on the side of the wagon-body farthest from the pulley 42. The rope or lead 41 is also carried across the top of the wagonbody and secured to the 'lower edge thereof on the opposite side in any suitable manner, as indicated at 44. When these ropes are thus attached and the wagon-body rests upon the supporting-bars 27 and 28 in the manner indicated in Fig. 3, the drum 38 is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrows in Figs. 3 and 4, whereupon the wagon-body, always resting upon the supporting-bars 27 and 28, is first turned over on its side and then farther over upon the upper edge of its lowermost side,

as indicated in Fig. 4, thereby insuring the complete discharge of the contents of the wagon-body. The supporting-bars 27 and 28 extend over the bin 3 to an extent sufficient to cause the load to fall into said bin when it is thus discharged from the wagon-body. Rota- A tion of the drum 38 in the opposite direction will restore the empty wagon-body to the position shown in Fig. 3.

The apparatus thus constructed maybe operated in the following manner: The wagon' may be loaded in the field, and owing 'to the fact that its height relatively to the bin is immaterial a low-bodied wagon may be employed, thus materially facilitating the loading of the wagon in the field. The wagon is then driven to the barn and stands upon the Hoor thereof .with the length of the wagon parallel with the face of the bin and adjacent thereto. The supporting-bars 27 and 28 being swung out of the way, the slings 25 and 26 on the lower ends of the hoisting-ropes are passed around the ends of the wagon-body, and the loaded body is lifted to the proper height by means of the windlass 6. The ropes 31 and 33 are then released, causing the supporting-bars 27 and 28 to swing down underneath the loaded body, which is then lowered upon them by means of the windlass 6, and the slings 25 and 26 are then removed. The ropes 40 and 41 are then connected to the oppositesides of the body in the manner already described, and the windlass 37 is operated so as to turn the wagon-body partially over and dump the load over into the bin 3. rlhe windlass 37 is then operated in the opposite direction, returning the wagon-body to its original position upon the supporting-bars 27 and 28. The slings 25 and 26 are then again applied to the wagon-body, and the latter is hoisted suificiently to permit the supportingbars 27 and 28 to be swung up out of the way by means of the ropes 31 and 32, whereupon the wagon-body may be lowered by means of the windlass 6 and replaced, emptied of its` load, upon the running-gear.

It will be seen that the apparatus is of such a character that one man can perform the entire operation of unloading the wagon-body, and can do so much more expeditiously than by the usual operation by shoveling by hand. lt will also be seen that the apparatus is useful in other connections-as, for instance, by moving and replacing different forms of wagon-bodies with relation to a single running-gear-as, for instance, where the usual wagon-body is to be replaced by a hay-bed, or vice versa. Furthermore, the hoisting mechanism is of great utility in connection with any farming operations, such as butchering or the like, where the hoisting of heavy weights is involved.

I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself strictly to the precise details of con- IOO IIO

struction hereinbefore described, and shown in the accompanying drawings, as the same may obviously be modified without departing from the principle of my invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what 1 claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. An apparatus of the character described, comprising a windlass, hoisting-ropes operated thereby and adapted to detachably engage the ends of a wagon-body, supporting-bars adapted to be swung under the wagon-body to support the same in au elevated position, and means for turning the wagon-bod y while thus supported to discharge its contents, substantially as described.

2. An apparatus of the character described, comprising1 a windlass,hoistingropes operated thereby and adapted to detachably engage the ends of a wagon-body, supporting-bars adapted to be swung under the wagon-body to support the same in an elevated position, and means for turning the wagon-body while thus supported to discharge its contents, said means comprising a Windlass, and ropes lead therefrom across the top of the wagon-body and connected to the lower portion thereof on opposite sides, one of said ropes passing around a lateral guide-pulley, substantially as described.

3. In an unloading apparatus of the character described, a barn or other suitable building provided with a bin, a windlass supported in an elevated position in the barn and havingv hoisting-ropes connected therewith, the lower ends of which are adapted to be detachably connected with the ends of the wagon-body, supporting-bars swung from the upper part of the barn, operating-ropes whereby the windlass-operator may swing said supportingbars under the wagon-body or withdraw them from beneath the same, said bars extending over the bin, a second windlass also mounted in an elevated position in the barn, and ropes extending from said second windlass in opposite directions across the top of the wagonbody and detachably connected to the lower portion thereoil on opposite sides, one of said ropes passing around a lateral guiding-pulley` substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

BERNARD BERTKE. Witnesses:

J. G. ROMER, P. E. KENNEY. 

